A lot of these people, these program directors, just like anybody else in the world, even though they're supposed to be leaders in the world, they're followers. They follow what they think someone else is doing, instead of trying to blaze a trail.

Ain't nobody making music to not be heard and the easiest way to be heard is to be on the radio, but you should never compromise who you are, your values or your morals.

And you know, art as commerce, doesn't really make too much sense, they don't go together.

As far as being on a major label, some labels get it and get what they have to do, and some labels don't. I don't think the label I'm on necessarily gets it, but I think over time they're gonna have to.

But it becomes disrespectful when the artist's process is not respected.

But Rawkus is integral to what I do, because the cats who started Rawkus are the first ones who really saw my vision, and gave me a platform to get it out there, so I'm definitely totally grateful for that.

But there's so many things in life like women, like children, like God and family that transcends the world of hip-hop.

But you have to be creative on how you sell yourself and market yourself.

Coltrane had a sax, Dale Earnhardt drives a race car and everybody has their tools.

Even an independent label is looking for a hit, they're not looking for a record that's not gonna do well.

Fortunately, artists can live off their works, if you're creative at how you do it. If you just depend on the videos and the radio, you're at a loss.

Hi-Tek is on three or four songs on the new record.

Hip-hop is a vehicle.

Hip-hop isn't as complex as a woman is.

I don't feel comfortable making empty music.

I like the last Scarface album a lot.

I listened to a mind joint, and I wanted to do my own version of it, and what you hear on my mixtape is my take on what the whole CD sounds like.

I mean, I do this to get heard.

I met Mos Def around that time but I didn't hook up with him until I was about 17 or 18.

I not only wanted to showcase lyrical skills but also continue to drop knowledge on the hiphop community. I'm looking to elevate through my music, and through my music I educate.

I started rapping because I wanted people to hear what I have to say, I want as many people to hear me as possible, and I do everything in my power to make that pop.

I think all those artists are artists who are appreciated because you believe their words and you appreciate their honesty in their music. If you don't appreciate the honesty in the music, the beat can be fly as hell but you'll never give an emcee props.

I think its man's nature to go to war and fight.

I think music sharing of any kind is great.

I was always rhyming and doing it for the love before I found out I was gonna have children and when I found out, doing it for the love wasn't enough.

I will never do a record without some sense of responsibility.

I wouldn't agree there's a lot of emptiness in hip-hop, 'cause The Roots and Blackalicious put out great records last year.

I'd like to work with Outkast, I'd like to work with RZA, I'd like to work with Timbaland, York, a whole bunch of people.

I'm not looking to set a standard... but, I believe I have offered a challenge to others with my work.

Let me finish my music, and let me present it the way I want to present it. And then share it, put it online, do whatever you want to do after that.

Music is not an exact science so depending on the time and the mode and the energy when we do it that will determine what happens with it.

Once you're signed to a label you compromise.

People consider Black Star a great album, and I think it's a classic album. But the fact is, both me and Mos Def have made better albums since Black Star.

So I just had to step up how I was doing it and the moment that I stepped up and the moment I focused all my energy on that is when things started to happen. So there's a direct relationship between my inspiration and my output.

So I think hip-hop is moving and is going to continue to move in the direction of rappers just being honest with themselves, whether you're talking about Common and Mos Def or Nas and 50 cent.

The beautiful thing about hip-hop is it's like an audio collage. You can take any form of music and do it in a hip-hop way and it'll be a hip-hop song. That's the only music you can do that with.

The problem with our role is Americans live in a world of illusion.

This is just something I wanted to do; I'm from New York City, and New York City underground culture is mixtapes. It's street-style mixtape.

War is not civilized.

We're in an illusion about what our role is in world politics and foreign affairs, and our policies are killing and destroying and doing a lot of things that we are not aware of.

Well if somebody's giving me a script, I'll consider it. But it's not something I'm chasing.

Woman are complex creatures.

You have to know when to be arrogant. You have to when to be humble. You have to know when to be hard and you have to know when to be soft.